


Oneshots of Us

by gracedameron



Series: One of Us [3]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, i don't know if there's any warning tags? if there are i will put them in the chapter, most of these are fluffy cute missing scenes, other newsies make appearances too!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-10 21:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13509759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracedameron/pseuds/gracedameron
Summary: Oneshots, prompt-fills and drabbles from my Newsies College AU: One of Us! Can be read as standalones, but fit better with the story. Each chapter is a new drabble/oneshot/prompt.





	1. Things You Said: Stars

**Author's Note:**

> all of these oneshots will fit in somewhere in the One of Us AU! I will explain where in the timeline each chapter fits. thanks for tuning in!
> 
> this first chapter is set sometime during the beginning of the first semester, before winter sets in. Jack and Kath are close friends by this point. Probably set after the silly macaroni and cheese fiasco. ;) Tumblr Prompt: Things You Said under the stars and in the grass

*

“You can’t really see too many stars here, can you?” Katherine sighed, lying flat on her back on a grassy hill in the middle of Central Park at almost 11:30 at night. Katherine’s instincts were screaming that it was too late to be in the middle of the park in the dark, but with Jack laying beside her, she couldn’t help but feel safe. Plus, there were probably security around. And she had pepper spray on her keychain.

“Nah,” Jack agreed. “Too many bright city lights.”

“City that never sleeps.” Katherine mused.

“Sure is a pretty night, though.” Jack added, shifting to look at Katherine next to him. “Even if there ain’t any stars.”

Katherine smirked, glancing at Jack and then back at the sky. “There’s a _couple_ stars.”

“Someday, you an’ me oughta go someplace where there ain’t no city lights. So’s we get to see some _real_ stars.” Jack said, stretching his arms out and putting them behind his head.

“Like Santa Fe?” she teased, elbowing his ribs lightly.

“Yeah,” Jack snorted, “Like Santa Fe. Ain’t no city lights out there. Just miles an’ miles of stars. Far as the eye can see.”

Katherine smiled as she turned on her side to look at him.

“How would you know?” she asked playfully, “You’ve never been.”

Jack shrugged, eyes still up at the sky above them. “I’s got an active imagination,” he said wistfully, and then turned to look at her. “And a smartphone. With Google.”

Katherine laughed, shoving his arm. “Fine, Mr. Google. Let’s go to Santa Fe and see all the stars.”

“Yeah, sure.” Jack smirked, playing along. “One of us’ll learn ta drive, we’ll pack a car up wit’ a telescope an’ all kinds’a stuff, an’ we’ll drive out west to Santa Fe.”

Katherine smiled, distantly realizing that she’d shifted closer to Jack.

“Sounds like fun,” she said, “We can watch the sun set, and the stars come out, and you can paint the whole thing so we never forget what it looks like.”

“And we’ll learn all ‘bout the constellations so’s we know what we’re lookin’ at. If we can tell ‘em apart that is, there’s so many stars all sparklin’ and twinklin’, we might not be able to tell what’s what.”

“I bet we could find a star-chart to help us out.” Katherine offered, and Jack grinned.

“Yeah! We can try ta pronounce all the crazy star names that ain’t no one can say. We’ll make it a game.” Jack added, and Katherine giggled.

“I bet I’d win.”

Jack laughed. “I betcha would.”

Katherine wasn’t sure when she’d gotten so close to Jack, but he shifted his arm so it could wrap around her shoulders and pulled her close. Katherine didn’t object, relaxing into him a little, her head leaning lightly against his chest.

“Hey Kath?” Jack asked after a second, and she looked up at him.

“Mmhm?”

“Thanks for stickin’ ‘round.” he said softly, and she thought she sensed something deeper behind his words before he quickly added, “Uh..tonight. After the fellas left. So we could...so we could watch the stars.”

Katherine smiled, resting her head back on his chest.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she said genuinely, and Katherine could practically hear Jack’s heart flutter in his chest as he squeezed her shoulders tight.

“Me neither.” he agreed before they both turned their eyes back to the sky.

*


	2. You're The Only One I Trust To Do This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Davey's freaking out during finals week. Tumblr Prompt: "You're the only one I trust to do this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one takes place toward the end of the first semester, during finals week! This is a Davey/Sarah bonding chapter :)

*

“David, you can take a break for  _ one hour _ and go take care of this yourself.” Sarah Jacobs said flatly, narrowing her eyes at his twin brother as he didn’t even look up from his work, gesturing at her vaguely. 

“Sarah _pleeeeease_.” he said, “You’re the only one I trust to do this.”

“To cut your hair?” Sarah laughed, “How about a hair-dresser? You know, someone who knows what they’re doing?” 

“No time,” Davey insisted, flipping through his notes, “Finals week, Sarah.” 

“I have finals too, you know.” 

Davey nodded. “You’re done with three of them.” 

“How did you know that?” Sarah asked, snapping her fingers in front of his face. “Davey!”

Davey shook his head a little to shake himself from his thoughts. “What? Katherine told me. Please? You’ve watched Mom cut my hair for 18 years, you know what to do.” 

“This is not my job!” 

“Saraaaaaah,” Davey tossed a piece of crumpled up paper from his desk at his twin. “Pleeeeease!” 

“Why is this something you need to do right now?” she asked, catching the crumpled paper and throwing it back at him, hitting him in the forehead. “Just have Momma do it when we go home next week.” 

“It’s too long, it’s making me crazy!” Davey protested, “I can’t focus.” He tugged on his dark hair, which Sarah had to admit was indeed getting long. 

“You look pretty focused to me,” Sarah admitted, crossing her arms in amusement. “Is this not you being focused?” she gestured with one hand to the half-dozen research books on the desk in front of him. 

“No!” Davey exclaimed, “I’m a mess! Look at this!” he flipped his laptop around and scrolled down. “I only have 10 pages, Sarah. Of a  _ rough draft _ . It’s due tomorrow! And I have two presentations due, a ton of online homework and,  _ and _ ,” Davey faced his laptop toward himself again and thrust a stack of papers at her, waving it in her general direction. “All my notes are out of order.” 

Sarah sighed, taking the stack of papers and setting it down on his desk taking her brother by the hand and pulling him to stand. He did, and Sarah put her hands firmly on his shoulders. 

“You need a break.” she said, “Let’s go get something to eat.” 

Davey huffed and Sarah tugged on his messy, growing-out bangs.

“And a haircut.” 

Davey finally smiled a little as Sarah put an arm around his shoulders and hugged him tight. 

“Okay.” he said, “Thanks, Sarah.” 

Sarah smiled too, fluffing Davey’s hair again. “Anytime. Come on, food first.”

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I, like Davey, cannot focus when my hair is too long/in my face. and this is just the sort of thing that would set me off in a study-panic. ;) 
> 
> thank you for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> prompts/requests always open either in comments here for on tumblr @gracetrack-higgins!!
> 
> next chapter is an angsty one! ;)


	3. Winter Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonder what happened to Race and Spot over Winter Break? Here ya go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Winter Break interlude I wrote that fits in during, you guessed it, winter break! Spot and Race both had rough winter breaks...here's a glimpse into them. 
> 
> Warning for: angst? homelessness? and the language rating i have only for Spot Conlon

_ Race _

*

Race hated this. He hated his parents, he hated his siblings, he hated his house, he hated his hometown, he hated his bedroom, he hated everything about being here. The second he came home from school he could feel an imaginary noose tightening, squeezing the life from him bit by bit, so slowly that panicking over it would be unrealistic. He couldn’t call anyone out on behavior that alone seemed meaningless, but every passive aggressive comment from his mother, every disapproving look from his father, every poke and prod from his siblings and every question his relatives asked him were building. And building and building and piling and pushing until he was dangerously close to breaking. 

He only had a week and a half left. Eleven days. Eleven days and he could go back to school. He would see everyone again. Jack, Katherine, Davey, Albert, Elmer, Jojo, Romeo, and most importantly,  _ Spot _ . Race was slightly embarrassed at just  _ how much _ he missed his roommate. Sure, they were very good friends,  _ best _ friends, in fact, but Race quickly realized after about a week without him that Spot had somehow become the most important person in Race’s life. He missed him more than he thought possible. They’d only known each other for four months, how could Race  _ possibly _ be this distressed to be away from him? Winter break was only four weeks; it didn’t even occur to Race just how long that was until he was suffocating. 

The entire train ride upstate Race remained optimistic. He was proud of his good grades, proud of his new skills and projects from dance, and even prouder of all the friends he’d made. He wanted going home to be a good thing, he really did. He wanted to tell his parents about everything he was doing and show them how successful he was on his own. He wanted  his siblings to think he was cool and had cool friends, he wanted his grandparents to be proud of his grades and classes. He wanted  _ so badly _ to not be miserable. 

But he was. Home didn’t feel like a home. School was becoming his home. Because his people; Jack, Kath, Davey, Albert, Romeo, Jojo, Elmer,  _ Spot _ were home. Being without them for so long made Race feel like pieces of him were missing. 

And he was kind of embarrassed about it. They were just friends from college. In twenty years they might not know each other’s names anymore. But with how deeply they’d all connected so quickly, Race hoped that wouldn’t be the case. 

_ They care about you as much as you do them. _ He’d remind himself daily.  _ They miss you too _ .

They did. He facetimed with Albert almost every day over break. He called Jack and Davey as often as he could. The groupchat was always active. Spot texted him all day every day. He wasn’t alone, they were all there, they  _ cared _ . 

Race would do anything for his friends. And he knew they’d do anything for him too. So when he was at his lowest, he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why he couldn’t bring himself to reach out to anyone. He’d typed out texts to Spot, deleting them before hitting send. He tried calling Katherine, but hung up before the first ring. His thumb hovered over Spot’s contact time and time again and he refused to call it. 

_ They can help. They love you. Tell someone what’s going on. You need help. You need support. Talk to someone.  _

Race didn’t. 

Race could barely make it through the last week of break. He was pushed to his breaking point, fought an internal battle and lost, and resulted in getting  _ mostly _ disowned. His parents never said anything, never confirmed the action, but it was clear. He was no longer welcome in their house. He was on his own. 

He was alone.

Race packed away the last of his things, whatever was left in his room that he wanted to keep. He was going back to school with the assumption that he wouldn’t be coming back here. He should be sad. He should be distraught or devastated or heartbroken but he wasn’t. He was  _ angry _ , but he was also just a little glad. 

_ Good riddance _ .

Goodbye worn in mattress. Goodbye chipping blue paint. Goodbye tallymarks scratched into the wall next to his bed. Goodbye cigarette burns on the window sill. His cards were packed. His cigarette stash was packed. All the little odds and ends he’d collected over the years were packed. 

He pulled down pictures, posters and cutouts from his old bulletin board and walls, throwing some away, saving a few. He saved some of the old polaroids he took on various trips over the years, tossing away pictures of himself and his family. He saved his poker and dance posters, rolling them up and packing them away. 

Race’s life was packed into two big suitcases and a cardboard box by the time he left his room for the last time, early in the morning, before anyone else was awake. 

Race didn’t want to cry when he left, but he did. He wanted the tears to be from anger or betrayal or hatred but they weren’t. They were tears of disappointment and heartache. He closed the door to his childhood bedroom with finality and didn’t look back as he took all his things downstairs of the far too familiar house. 

The last person Race saw before he left was his mom. She wasn’t a bad parent, and he certainly wasn’t as angry at her as he wanted to be. She loved him and he knew this, she just didn’t always express it in the right ways. And this entire break reminded Race just how bad she was at being the supportive parent he wished he had. 

“ _ Antonio _ ,” she stood in the kitchen in her robe and slippers, holding a coffee mug in her hand. Her voice was sad, and Race could’ve sworn he saw tears sparkling in her eyes, but he couldn’t really tell through the tears in his own. “We just want what’s best for you,  _ bambino _ .” 

Race felt himself cringe at her words. “No,” he told her, “You want what’s best for  _ you _ .” He hated how cliche he sounded, but knew he wasn’t wrong.

She sighed, a disappointed sound that Race heard way too much growing up. His phone dinged in his hand.

“My ride’s here.” he said lamely, wiping at his eyes and gathering his things, walking out the front door without saying goodbye. 

Race should’ve been happy to see the stupid house full of loud family members fade from view from the window of the cab, but he couldn’t stop crying. He wanted it to be more than it was. He shouldn’t have had such high expectations. He shouldn’t have tried so hard to make it something it wasn’t. If he hadn’t built up his family so much in his head, maybe he wouldn’t be so crushed now. 

_ Spot: i hate you when are you comin back _

_ Spot: its borin here _

_ Spot: i tried espresso today you’re a monster how do u drink that  _

Race smiled a little at the notifications as they showed up on his phone and sniffed, wiping his running nose with the back of his hand. He’d feel better when he was back at school, with his friends, where he could be himself uninhibited. He’d feel better when he was home.

_ RACE IS THE COOLEST: on my way 2 train station. See u tonight _

_ Spot: fuck yeah !!! _

Race wiped at his eyes, trying to pull it together. 

_ Man up. Stop crying. You’re better than this. _

Race heard Katherine’s voice in the back of his head reminding him that men and women both have emotions and there is no need to put gender roles on feelings and smiled a little. He’d feel so much better when he was home.

*

When Spot picked Race up from the train station that night he couldn’t pinpoint what was different about him until that night as they both were falling asleep in their dorm room.

_ He smelled like smoke.  _

*

* * *

 

_ Spot _

*

Spot crossed his arms, trying to get comfortable. 

_ Fuckin’ Brooklyn bein’ cold as fuck. _

He tossed and turned, but the backseat of his car wasn’t very comfortable, even when he attempted to make it so. He had a pillow and the comforter from his dorm room to try and add some cushion and comfort, but he couldn’t leave the car running all night to provide heat, so he was freezing. This was not how he wanted to spend Christmas. 

But if he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t the worst way he’d spent Christmas. His phone buzzed and he glanced at it, smirking at another meme in the groupchat about Elf Practice that he didn’t understand but still made him chuckle. Honestly, just seeing his friends’ notifications popping up on his phone reminded him that there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and made getting through another frigid night sleeping in his car bearable. 

He didn’t want no one worryin’ bout him, so he didn’t mention to anyone how badly he was freezing his ass off, parked in an abandoned lot in Brooklyn for the night. He’d even lied to Danielle and said he was stayin’ with a friend, and he’d pick her up in the morning for breakfast at their favorite diner, continuing their day-after-Christmas tradition.

Things were okay with Danielle for the first time in a while. Probably because they were alone, and none of Spot’s friends were around to threaten his attention. They’d done their typical Christmas tradition, he politely made an appearance at her dad’s apartment and tried his best not to want to beat the bastard up on sight, they ate an awkward dinner, Spot took Danielle to Prospect Park, they looked at the decorations, and exchanged presents. Danielle had given him some new shirts and a new jacket, good and practical gifts. He’d given her a necklace and gift card to her favorite nail place, which she greatly appreciated. They got hot chocolate after,  _ warmed each other up _ in his car, and he took her home. It was nice.

But Spot still felt like something was missing. For the first time in a really long time, he hated being in Brooklyn. He felt isolated and trapped and not just because he was freezing alone in his car. He didn’t have anyone in Brooklyn, not like he had at school. He missed his friends. 

Spot wasn’t used to having friends. Or missing anyone. He hadn’t let himself  _ miss _ anyone since his mom died when he was six. The foreign ache in his chest was annoying and uncomfortable and if he thought about it too hard, it made him feel crazy, so he didn’t think about it. He also didn’t think about how being back in Brooklyn made him feel like he was back in time, even though he’d only been gone for four months. For the first time, he liked that he was changing. He wanted to be more than he was. 

Spot shivered as he pulled the comforter around him, bundled in layers, his thick winter coat, thick jeans, double socks and gloves with hand-warmers, but still unable to get warm. He glanced at his phone as he got a snapchat from Race. 

_ Save the streak! _ It read, and Spot immediately sent a dark screened snap back to save their 110 day streak. 

_ Merry Christmas Spotty _ :D  another snap read, this time with a picture of Race’s smiling face included. 

Spot smiled at his friend’s infectious grin and sent a snap back, sure to hide the fact he was lying in his car and wearing a coat at almost midnight. 

_ Merry Christmas, dumbass  _ Spot responded, sending his standard half-face selfie snap back to him. 

Spot plugged his phone into the trusty external battery charger he’d had since his last foster home and rolled over, attempting to stop shivering and get some sleep. 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Race and Spot hold their Snapchat streak in very high regard. They start one pretty much the first week of college and keep it until they graduate  
> and when they end it, it's a ceremony  
> Race cries a little  
> it's v dramatic
> 
> anyway
> 
> I promise most of these will be happier! ;) Thank you for reading and I'd love to see your thoughts!! and I'm working on all the requests I've gotten so far, I have a growing list going so feel free to send more! ;) 
> 
> hugs!!


	4. Beth and Elmer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little insight into Elmer and his girlfriend Beth's relationship!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This oneshot takes place shortly after everyone comes back from Winter Break, right after Jack and Davey announce the strike. 
> 
> Beth is my little sister's self-insert OC! She's a dancer with a focus in ballet, and she's an added girlsie to this fic!! She's roommates with Spot's girlfriend Danielle. :O

*

“She’s just so  _ mean _ ,” Beth said, slumping down further in her seat. “I’m not asking for the impossible, I just asked if she could turn off her desk light so I could go to sleep. I wasn’t even rude about it!” 

“I know,” Elmer, Beth’s dutiful boyfriend, said soothingly, standing behind Beth and rubbing her shoulders. “She just ain’t a nice person, Beth.” Beth hadn’t gotten along with her roommate since the day they’d met. 

Beth sighed, pouting a little. “I know. But I  _ am _ . I’m trying so hard to show her grace and kindness but,” 

“Hey,” Elmer interrupted her gently, “Not everyone deserves kindness. She ain’t bein’ nice to you, you don’t gotta be nice to her.” 

Beth smiled a little. “I know I don’t  _ have _ to be nice, but if I was mean too, then I’m no better than her.” 

Elmer gave her a sideways grin and pecked a kiss to her cheek. “You, Princess, are too good for this world.” 

Beth smirked, turning her head and catching his lips in a kiss. “I know.” 

Elmer sat back down in front of her where they were stretching in the mostly empty studio, waiting for the rest of their group to get there. Even though things were still up in the air about their scholarships, classes, rehearsals and showcase, the dedicated students of the dance department were determined to keep practicing. 

“You doin’ okay with everythin’?” He asked, stretching out with one leg tucked behind him, arms reaching for his opposite foot. She sat in her butterfly position, pressing her knees closer to the ground one at a time.

“Yeah,” she sighed, “I guess.” 

“Jack an’ Davey have a plan to fix stuff,” Elmer said, “You’re in the strike chat, we ain’t gonna let Pulitzer do this to us.” 

Beth made a face, opening up to her straddle split and stretching to one side, arms perfectly arched. “I know. And you know I believe in it, wholeheartedly, but...I worked so hard to get here. What if Dr. Pulitzer gets angry and kicks us out of school? Then what do we do?” She switched to stretch the other side, as did he.

“They can’t kick us all out, can they?” he asked lightly, mostly kidding. She gave him a sad smile. 

“I certainly hope not.” she hesitated. “I don’t know what I’d do with myself if I wasn’t here.” 

Elmer gave her an easy smile, reaching for her hands as he opened up to his straddle split as well. They pulled close to one another to stretch each other’s legs. She wrapped her slender arms around his waist and pulled tighter, so his feet pushed against hers. 

“I know what you’d do,” he said with a smile that made her heart bloom with warmth and fuzziness. 

“Oh yeah?” their faces were close together as they stretched, but she didn’t shy from his eye contact. 

“You’d audition for the New York City Ballet, you’d get in, you’d blow through a pair of pointe shoes in a week, but it wouldn’t matter because you’d be livin’ your dreams, dancing in a ballet every night.” 

Beth finally broke the eye contact between them, glancing away shyly. 

“It wouldn’t matter if you weren’t there,” she said honestly and he shrugged. 

“You don’ need me to make your dreams come true,” he told her, and she shook her head. 

“No, but without you, who would break in my pointe shoes for me?” 

Elmer laughed, squeezing her tight in a hug as they still stretched. 

“I’ll break in as many shoes as ya want me to, Princess. At school or not.” he promised. 

She smiled, nose scrunching with a giggle as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. She returned the gesture to his nose, and then their lips met in a kiss. 

“GROSS.” a familiar voice called out behind them as the door to the studio swung open and Race and Albert both walked in. “GROOOOOOSSSS.” 

Beth laughed, dropping her head to Elmer’s shoulder. Elmer flipped Race off, laughing too. Beth rolled out of the straddle and stood, leaping over and punching Race lightly in the arm for ruining her moment. 

“Ain’t my fault you two is disgustin’,” Race teased, pushing her lightly back. “This is  _ dance _ practice not kissin’ practice!” 

“Yeah,” Albert said, elbowing Elmer playfully as he joined his friends, “My studio time ain’t for you two to be gettin’ handsy.” 

Beth rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in a pout, but started giggling when Elmer picked her up around her waist and swung her around. 

“You’s just jealous,” Elmer said, making both Race and Albert scoff and groan. Elmer gave Beth a wink as he set her down, and she grinned back. 

“You wanna get food after this?” he asked, “Just you ‘n me?” 

Beth nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.” she thought a moment. “Aren’t we supposed to go to a strike meeting, though?” 

“Oh, right.” he agreed. “Okay, after that, then. Less time you gotta spend with Danielle the better, right?” 

Beth nodded gratefully. “Right.” she squeezed his hands in hers. “You’re the best.” 

“GAG.” Albert walked past them, waving the two apart and into their spots. “Start warmin’ up, lovebirds! I wanna finish this piece today.” 

Beth giggled as she started stretching out a few paces away, asking Race to hold her leg up as she extended it higher. Elmer watched until Albert came up behind him and hit him with a towel. 

“ _ Stretch _ , idiot.” Albert teased. Seconds later, Jojo, Romeo and Sniper entered the studio and started stretching too, getting ready for rehearsal together. 

“Are we all goin’ to the strike thing after this?” Romeo asked, and everyone nodded in confirmation. 

“Yeah, we gotta. This is for our futures,” Race said with a nod. 

“You think we gotta shot?” Jojo asked, a little shyly. 

“Sure’s we do.” Albert said confidently, “Between Jack, Davey and Kath leadin’ us, there ain’t nothin’ we can’t do. Now!” Albert clapped his hands together. “No more gripin’. Go’s to that second formation. We’s got work ta do.” 

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh the sweetness that is Belmer. 
> 
> Fun facts:   
> I know way more about pointe shoes than anyone ever wants to know.   
> SO. Boy ballet dancers typically do help the girls break their shoes in. Especially if they are partners, it's a tradition thing. Elmer mentions her going through a pair of pointe shoes a week and that is accurate, pointe shoes last for 20-30 hours of use, and if she's dancing multiple shows a week or in rehearsal for multiple hours a week, then bam. Dead shoes in a week. "Dead" shoes means that your shoes are broken or have gone soft, and if you dance in dead shoes you can injure yourself.   
> Another partnering tradition is stretching together, and these lovebirds definitely stretch side by side. ;)   
> There is another oneshot later on that's about Danielle and Beth not getting along....poor Bethie got the world's worst roommate.
> 
> Thank you for reading!! I'd love to hear your thoughts! Requests always open! :)   
> Tumblr: @gracetrack-higgins


	5. I Think I'm In Love With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack tells Katherine how he feels!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this takes place sometime after the Strike is resolved! Jack finally tells Kath how he feels and they discuss what they are. :)   
> Tumblr Prompt: "I think I'm in love with you and I'm terrified."

*

Jack paced back and forth in his dorm room, kicking at shoes and dirty clothes that littered his side of the room. 

“No, no.” Jack shook his head. “That’s a terrible idea, Dave.” he collapsed dramatically into his desk chair, spinning around a few times. 

“You’ll never be more than you are if you don’t tell her how you feel,” Davey insisted, glancing at his roommate tiredly from where he sat on his bed. He was getting a little tired of Jack’s weekly Katherine-Centric Breakdowns. 

“Noooo,” 

“ _ TELL HER HOW YOU FEEL _ .” 

“What?” Jack snorted, “You want me to walk up to Kath and tell her ‘I think I’m in love with you and I’m terrified.’?? Does that sound like a good idea to you, Dave?”

Davey rolled his eyes. “You’re being very dramatic.” 

“ _ No I am not, David. _ ”

Davey tossed a crumpled piece of paper at Jack’s head. “You want my advice?” 

Jack nodded. “Please.” 

“Text Katherine, invite her for coffee or lunch or something, and tell her you want to explore something as more than friends. You’ve kissed now. That was a long time coming. She’s probably waiting on  _ you _ to make the next move.” 

Jack stopped spinning his chair. “You think?” 

Davey nodded. “You’ll never know ‘til you try.” 

Jack considered that for a moment. “What if I screw it up?” 

“She kissed  _ you _ .” Davey reminded him, “She feels something, Jackie.” 

Jack nodded. “Okay. Okay. I’ll text her.”

 

_ Jack: Wanna get coffee tomorrow? Just you + me? _

_ Ace: Sure :) what time? _

_ Jack: 10am? _

_ Ace: Sounds good. it’s a date _

 

Jack gaped, looking back to Davey, who smirked. 

“Did she say yes?” Davey asked, and Jack nodded. 

“She said ‘it’s a date’.” 

Davey rolled his eyes. “You two are already the tackiest couple ever,  _ oy vey _ .” 

*

Katherine grinned as she took the coffees from Spot at the counter of the coffee shop, paying for both her and Jack’s drinks, bringing them over to the little table in the corner that they usually sat at while she waited for Jack. 

“Ugh,” Jack called out as he entered the shop, seeing Spot working the counter. “ _ You’re  _ here.” he smirked, and Spot rolled his eyes, throwing an empty coffee cup at Jack, who caught it and threw it back. 

Jack ignored Spot and beelined to Katherine at their table, setting down his bag and leaning over to kiss her cheek. 

“Well hello to you too,” Katherine laughed. “I got your coffee.” 

Jack smiled at the coffee cup and then at Katherine. 

“Hey,” he grinned.

“Hey.” she grinned back. “What’s up?” 

Jack took a deep breath. “I think I’m in love with you, and I’m terrified.” 

Katherine laughed. “Is that so?” 

Jack nodded, trying to ignore how badly his stomach was flipping around. 

“That was dumb,” Jack said quickly, “Dave said I should just say how I feel an’ I walked into this super confident and-” 

Katherine grabbed Jack’s shoulders from across the table and pulled him forward, kissing him square on the lips. Jack’s eyes widened with surprise but fluttered closed as Katherine kissed him again. And again. When their lips parted she pressed her forehead to his, their eyes opening and meeting. 

“I think I’m in love with you too,” Katherine whispered, and Jack smiled wide. 

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“So I didn’t just make a complete fool outta myself?” Jack whispered back, and Katherine giggled, shaking her head. 

“No,” she assured him. 

“Cool.” Jack breathed a laugh, sitting back in his chair, hands still holding Katherine’s. “So uh-” he cleared his throat, holding Katherine’s hands tight. “Do you wanna...I dunno, try datin’? Bein’ boyfriend an’ girlfriend, steada’ just best friends?” 

Katherine smirked. “We can still be best friends, and date at the same time,” she reminded him. He nodded. 

“Course.” Jack nodded. “But is that a yes?” 

Katherine smiled, her nose scrunching a little. 

_ Well if that ain’t the cutest thing, _ Jack caught himself thinking, squeezing her hands in his. 

“Yes,” Katherine nodded, “A thousand times yes.” 

Jack’s heart soared and he stood from his seat, wrapping Katherine in a tight hug, which she returned, burying her face in his shoulder. 

“Get a room!” Spot called from the coffee counter, making Katherine laugh. Jack gave him a rude gesture before kissing Katherine’s hair, not letting go of their hug. He was pretty sure he could hug her forever, given the chance. 

_ Maybe Dave was onto somethin’ with this whole ‘tell her how you feels’ thing.  _

*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love these two so much. And poor long-suffering Davey!!
> 
> Sorry I've been kinda MIA lately! Life has gotten a little busy and I hit a week and a half of pretty bad writer's block, but I'm finally past it and back to the grind! I'm hoping to be able to post the first chapter of the One of Us Sequel VERY soon! Stay tuned! 
> 
> thank you everyone who's requested oneshots or drabbles from me, they are coming, I promise!! :D

**Author's Note:**

> yes, I am 100% stalling while I write the sequel. these are all oneshots that I have written for tumblr prompts or missing scenes from One of Us that I wrote but didn't post! expect a lot of fluffy things, and a few angsty ones too!


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